9 NRIs elected members of Academy of EngineeringWashington, February 27
The highest professional body of engineers in the USA, the National Academy of Engineering, has included at least nine Indian-Americans in a list of 172 new members it has elected.

Pak lab showed N-arms at fair, says reportVienna, February 27The Pakistani scientist at the centre of a black market in nuclear weapons was able to display sensitive equipment and brochures for atom bomb technology at a Pakistani arms fair, Jane’s Defence Weekly (JDW) has reported.

Smoke billows from the still burning passenger ferry after it was towed near the coast off Bataan province, north of Manila, on Friday. One person was killed and 139 were missing, the coastguard said, after a disaster struck the 877 passengers and crew of a passenger ferry about an hour into their overnight journey from Manila to Bacolod in central Philippines. — Reuters

Asian kids beat white pupils in examsLondon, February 27Children from Asian families are beating white pupils at the General Certificate of Secondary Education
(GCSE) exams here, according to the latest official figures. As many
as 52.8 per cent of pupils from Asian homes achieved good GCSE grades
last year compared to 51.3 per cent of white pupils.

‘Koi Mil Gaya’ sweeps top honours at Zee Cine awardsDubai, February 27The award-winning spree continued for the biggest grosser of 2003 ‘Koi Mil Gaya’ and its lead actor Hrithik Roshan, with the sci-fi flick sweeping top honours at the Zee Cine Awards, including for best film and best actor.
At the five-hour mega event here last night, held for the first
time outside India and hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar and
actress Juhi Chawla, Urmila Matondkar grabbed the best actress
award for her role as a possessed housewife in the horror drama
‘Bhoot’.

A local surfer drops into a large wave at South Narrabeen in
Sydney
on Friday. For the second day in a row Sydney beaches were pounded by large waves in the wake of a low pressure system off the eastern coast which has caused minor flooding and closed all metropolitan beaches.
— Reuters

Washington, February 27
The highest professional body of engineers in the USA, the National Academy of Engineering, has included at least nine Indian-Americans in a list of 172 new members it has elected. Election to the Academy is among the highest professional honour accorded to an engineer.

The latest list which was published on February 13, brings the number of elected to a total of 2,174, including 172 foreign associates.

Siva B. Banda, an NRI who was elected, is a senior scientist and leader of the Control Science Center of Excellence, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

He has been elected for showing leadership in the development of multivariable control theory and its
applications to an array of military vehicles.

Anup K. Chakraborty, Warren and Katherine Schlinger Distinguished Professor and Chair, person, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, has been elected for the application of theoretical chemistry to practical problems, including immune system recognition, polymer interfaces, sensor technology and catalysis.

Rakesh K. Jain, Director, Edwin L. Steele Laboratory, department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston received the honour for his work on the integration of bioengineering with tumour biology and imaging gene expression and function in vivo for drug delivery on tumours.
— PTI

“We have a guy in Pakistan that 10 years ago, if you would have found him selling that stuff, you’d have hung him in the marketplace,” said Senator Pete Domenici.

Dr Khan, the father of Pakistan’s nuclear programme, was pardoned by President Pervez Musharraf after confessing to leaking nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea.

Calling him “the worst proliferator ever”, Domenici made his comments as Powell testified before the Senate Budget Committee on his department’s 2005 budget request. The committee chairman, Senator Don Nickles, also asked Powell about Dr Khan.

“I don’t see him being punished and I’m concerned,” Nickles said. “This one individual, and may be his collaboration of scientists, evidently were spreading nuclear secrets throughout the world. It looks like he’s getting off scot-free. And I am interested in your comment on that.”

Powell defended Musharraf’s decision and said the USA was getting much information from Dr Khan as part of the conditional pardon.

“As you know, Senator, he was seen as a national hero in Pakistan,” Powell told Nickles. “I think (Musharraf) took a bold step, the right step to uncover it all and not hide from the reality of what Dr Khan has done.”
— AP

Vienna, February 27
The Pakistani scientist at the centre of a black market in nuclear weapons was able to display sensitive equipment and brochures for atom bomb technology at a Pakistani arms fair, Jane’s Defence Weekly (JDW) has reported.

Pakistan’s government has denied any knowledge of the black market activities of Abdul Qadeer Khan, father of Pakistan’s atom bomb, and his Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), and Khan himself has insisted he had no government backing. But JDW in its March 3 edition said KRL had run a stall at the international arms trade fair in Karachi in November, 2000 and displayed components used in the production of weapons-grade uranium.

“JDW readily obtained the brochures (for weapons-related technology) on the spot and inquired whether all listed items were available for sale,” said the report. “Several KRL officials provided positive assurances that all had government approval for export,” it said.

Some diplomats believe that in addition to peddling enrichment technology capable of purifying uranium for use in nuclear weapons, Khan may have also sold Iran and North Korea the same designs for a nuclear warhead that Libya acquired.
— Reuters

London, February 27
Children from Asian families are beating white pupils at the General Certificate of Secondary Education
(GCSE) exams here, according to the latest official figures. As many as 52.8 per cent of pupils from Asian homes achieved good GCSE grades last year compared to 51.3 per cent of white pupils. In fact, Chinese and Indian students top the list with 74.8 per cent and 65.2 per cent success rate, respectively, against just 45.5 per cent for Bangladeshi students and 41.5 per cent for Pakistanis.

The performance of the Indian pupils at the GCSE rose by 2.6 per cent compared to 2002 while that of white pupils’ rose by 1.8 per cent. Education experts believe that family values and the desire for hard work are the prime factors behind the success of Indian and other Asian pupils.
— UNI

Dubai, February 27
The award-winning spree continued for the biggest grosser of 2003 ‘Koi Mil Gaya’ and its lead actor Hrithik Roshan, with the sci-fi flick sweeping top honours at the Zee Cine Awards, including for best film and best actor.

At the five-hour mega event here last night, held for the first time outside India and hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar and actress Juhi Chawla, Urmila Matondkar grabbed the best actress award for her role as a possessed housewife in the horror drama ‘Bhoot’.

It was celebration time for the Roshans, with Hrithik grabbing the best actor award, and his father and director of `Koi Mil Gaya’ Rakesh getting the best director prize.

Saif Ali Khan, following up his victories in Filmfare and Screen Awards, once again stood out in the supporting actor category, winning the award for his role in the mushy `Kal Ho Na Ho’. The best supporting actress award went to veteran Shabana Azmi for ‘Tehzeeb’.

The ‘Superstar of the Year’ award went to Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta. Filmmaker Yash Johar won the Lifetime Achievement Award, while actor Dharmendra was honoured for Best Contribution to Indian Cinema.

Actor Rahul Dev won the best villain award for `Footpath’ and Arshad Warsi was adjudged best comedian for his role in the very popular ‘Munnabhai MBBS’.
— PTI

BRIEFLY

Russian President Vladimir Putin adjusts the hood of his jacket
at Ovsyanka village in Krasnoyarsk region during his pre-election trip to Siberia on Friday.
— Reuters

2 new dinosaur species found
WASHINGTON: Two new species of dinosaur, one a quick-moving meat-eater and the other a giant plant-eater, have been discovered in Antarctica, US researchers have said. The 70 million-year-old fossils of the carnivore would have rested for millenniums at the bottom of an Antarctic sea, while the remains of the 100-foot-long (30 metre) herbivore were found on the top of a mountain. They would have lived in a different Antarctica — one that was warm and wet, the two teams of researchers, both funded by the National Science Foundation, said on Thursday.— Reuters

Papers awarded for designs
WASHINGTON: Two British newspapers and a Swedish daily were among the top five most eye-catching newspapers from around the globe to scoop awards for the “World’s Best-Designed” newspapers, the US-based Society for News Design has announced. A panel of media executives picked The Herald, a Scottish daily, The Independent on Sunday, a British weekly, and Upsala Nya Tidning, a Swedish daily, as three of the planet’s five best-designed newspapers.
— AFP

Newsreaders to strip on TV
HONG KONG: Hong Kong viewers will get the “naked truth” on a new TV news show presented by nude newsreaders, press reports said on Friday. The first show, to be aired this weekend, features newsreader Chan Long, a willowy 18-year old girl who strips through the five-minute bulletin until she is completely naked.
— AFP